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Rejoyce Muzanenhamo Health Matters
What is a prostate gland?
- It is a gland that lies in the pelvic cavity in front of the rectum and behind the symphysis pubis surrounding the first part of the urethra.
Functions of the prostate gland
- It secretes a thin, milky fluid that makes up about 30 percent of semen and gives it its milky appearance.
- It contains a clotting enzyme which thickens the semen in the vagina, increasing the likelihood of semen being retained close to the cervix.
Predisposing factors of prostate conditions
- Age: Men aged 50 and above run a greater risk.
- Race — More common among Africans, African American, African Hispanic and Asian American men have the lowest rates of prostate disorders.
- Family history—If your father or brother had prostate cancer you are more likely to develop it.
- Diet- Risk of prostate cancer may be higher for men who eat high fat diet.
Symptoms of prostate problems
- Frequent urge to urinate.
- Need to get up many times during the night to urinate.
- Blood in urine or semen.
- Pain or burning urination.
- Painful ejaculation.
- Frequent pain or stiffness in lower back, hips, pelvic or rectal area or upper thighs.
- Dribbling of urine.
Common disorders of the prostate
- 1-Prostatitis — Usually caused by a non specific infection, that spreads from the urethra or bladder often following cathetarisation, cystoscopy, urethral dilation or prostate surgery.
- This can affect men of any age but is more common in men aged 30 and 50.
- Prostatitis responds well to antibiotics.
2-Benign Prostatic EEnlargement(BPE)
- This affects men over 50 years.
- The cause is not clear but it s associated with the decline in androgen secretion, which changes the androgen oestrogen balance.
- The enlargement of the prostate gland causes the urethra to narrow, and puts pressure on the base of the bladder.
This leads to obstruction in the flow of urine.
- This obstruction will then cause urinary retention.
- Urinary retention is very painful and usually relieved by catheterisation.
- Urinary retention is associated with high bladder pressures which can damage kidney function.
Prostate cancer
Typically affects men over the age of 50 years.
In the early stages the cancer cells are confined to the prostate gland.
With the more aggressive types of prostate cancer, cancer cells enter the vascular and lymphatic systems early and spread to other parts of the body where they develop secondary tumours particularly in the bones.
Diagnosis of prostate disease
- Physical examination including digital rectal examination (DRE) where a medical practitioner inserts a finger into your rectum to check the size of your prostate.
- Blood tests for prostate specific antigen.
- Ultra sound scan and urinary flow studies .
- Biopsies of the prostate.
- Mid stream urine for micro-culture and sensitivity (M/C/S)
Treatment of prostate disorders
- Treatment for prostatitis include antibacterial drugs which are given depending on the type of prostatitis.
- Treatment for BPE include medication that relax the smooth muscle of the gland or to shrink the size of the prostate and produce a permanently widened channel in the part of the urethra that passes through the prostate.
Management approaches for cancer include;
- Surgery- prostatectomy (removal of the prostate gland).
- Watchful waiting- observe the prostate cancer until it has metastasized, usually done to men who are too old or have other life threatening condition).
- Radiotherapy.
- Chemotherapy.
- Hormone treatment (androgen deprivation therapy).
Feedback:
Rejoyce T Muzanenhamo
0777595174.
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